Jets adjusting to life without Revis

As the Patriots work to fix some problems with their defensive backfield, they will not get any sympathy from the Jets, who have to deal with the loss of Darrelle Revis.

PAUL KENYON

FOXBORO — As the Patriots work to fix some problems with their defensive backfield, they will not get any sympathy from the Jets. Actually, the Pats could learn a little something by looking at what has happened with their rivals.

The Jets are being forced to play for the rest of the season without t star cornerback Darrelle Revis, and somehow they have survived.

Even without Revis the Jets are sixth in the league in pass defense, allowing a total of 1,256 yards through the air. NE is ranked 28th, giving up 1,733.

New York is slightly ahead of the Patriots in overall yards allowed (359-371) per game.

Tom Brady spoke about how the Jets have handled life without Revis.

“He’s a great player — one of the best I’ve ever gone against,” Brady said. “At the same time, I think they’ve moved on from that situation and played really well last week against Indianapolis without him.

“They still have a very good defense. It’s built around their team and their scheme, and they have very good players — big, powerful guys that run well, very instinctive.

“They have a lot of veteran players at safety and linebacker. [Antonio] Cromartie is a heck of a player in his own right and he’s had a great season, so he’s really assumed the role of matching to the opponent’s No. 1 receiver — or perceived No. 1 receiver. They seem like they’re still doing what they’ve always done and playing very well.”

Still, Jets coach Rex Ryan concedes that life is more difficult without Revis.

“We’d much prefer that he was here, that’s for sure,” Ryan said of Revis. “But the fact he’s not, we’re about playing team defense. We’ve overcome injuries in the past.

“We lost a Pro Bowl nose tackle three plays into a season once, so we’ve had different injuries. We lost Jim Leonhard a couple of times, but again, it’s never been about one player. It’s about that entire unit and we feel pretty good.

“I really like the way Antonio Cromartie’s playing,” Ryan said. “He’s really stepped his game up and has really been like an elite corner in this league and he’s doing a tremendous job. This gave an opportunity for a young man like Kyle Wilson to step into a bigger role for us.”

Cromartie is playing like an all-star.

“It starts by being a leader, bringing guys with you, teaching the younger players and stepping up as a mentor to people in the way he studies, the way he prepares,” Ryan said.

“And then, stepping up and taking on, generally, the tough down, going against Andre Johnson (in the Houston game), having him for almost every snap. Those are the type of things I’m talking about.”

The Jets usually assign Cromartie to follow the opponent’s top receiver. It will be interesting to see if they do that against the Patriots and which Patriot (Brandon Lloyd? Wes Welker?) Cromatie shadows.

The Patriots have had some trouble adjusting to injuries. Safety Steve Gregory remains out with a hip injury and fellow safety Patrick Chung has also missed time.

Opposing quarterbacks are completing 64 percent of their passes against New England. Mark Sanchez comes in at 49 percent for the Jets, but other quarterbacks without strong numbers have done well against the Pats.

The Patriots deal with their issues in their own style.

“ Obviously, around here we take injuries day by day,” said defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. “We’re just always going to try to put the best people we can out on the field in the best situation we can, so I think we’ll just kind of handle it the same way we always do.”

Ryan has been low key all week, even saying that New England’s defense is better than the numbers say.

“I think their defense doesn’t necessarily get the credit that they deserve,” he said the other day.

“Every year they get criticized for their pass defense, what they rank and all that. But it’s not about that,” according to Ryan. “The Patriots play complementary football, where obviously you have the No. 1 offense in all of football — scoring offense, total offense, everything-else offense — so what you do is you try to win the turnover battle and when they do, this team’s record when they win the turnover battle is phenomenal. That’s something that they do and I think it kind of gets overlooked.

“The offense, deservedly so, gets a ton of credit. But since 2008, for instance, when New England wins the turnover battle, they’re 39-4 and that to me is a team thing. And when they lose it, they’re 8-10, so I think the defense plays a part in that obviously,” Ryan said.

Bill Belichick went out of his way, as usual, to speak highly of Ryan and the Jets.

“ I have a lot of respect for Rex. I think we have a good relationship. I see him from time to time at the owners meetings and Indy combine and stuff like that,” Belichick said. “But I know on Sunday he’ll be doing the best job he can for his team. I’ll be doing the best job I can for my team. We’ll see what happens. But I think there is good mutual respect there. We had his brother on our staff here. I’ve known his dad for a long time. It’s just competition.”

It’s been a different week. The two sides have been nice, almost too nice, to each other. That likely will change when kickoff time arrives at 4:25.